The tooling for the new Krogen 52' continues at a vibrant pace. It seems like it was just yesterday that Tom and I were in Taiwan watching the foam stiffeners for the mold being glassed into place and "poof!" the last pieces of the steel frame supporting the shiny new mold are being added. These stiffeners and the steel structure work together to ensure the mold will maintain its perfect shape through the lamination of each hull. Within a few short weeks the plug will be separated from the mold, the mold will be polished to perfection, and lamination of 5201 will commence.

While one crew is working on the hull mold, another crew is working on what will be the mold for the saloon/pilothouse/decks as well as the mold for the boat deck/flybridge/pilothouse roof. All those structures and just two molds? Let me explain. To create these molds, we start by creating a full size version of the exterior surfaces. Tom and I went to Taiwan last month to see and walk around that full size model to check out the ergonomics. We wanted to make sure that the side deck had enough room to easily move fore and aft, that steps were comfortable (none of us are getting any younger), and that the hatches on the foredeck were positioned so as not to be a tripping hazard. To me there's nothing worse than a foredeck that's an obstacle course. I don't know about you, but when on the foredeck I want clear egress to the windlass as well as cleats. The video I took while in Taiwan can be found at http://www.kadeykrogen.com/videos/.

As a result of that trip we made tweaks to some of the surfaces resulting in even more comfortable movement around the deck. Upon completion of this wooden structure (which was beautiful in her own right) the workers proceeded to cut her in two. While literally it was cut into two pieces, it was a precise cut that ran along the underside of the boat deck and then up to and under the pilothouse roof. This piece was carefully lifted away and moved to the floor in front of the hull mold. From there crews began to fair this wooden structure. In a few weeks, they will begin lamination on this structure to create the one piece mold for the boat deck, flybridge and pilothouse roof. Yes, all of this structure will be created from one mold and it could be argued that our ability to do this is nature's way of saying "you've got it right". The sweet lines of the Krogen 52' have all the curves going in the right direction which will allow us to release the whole structure from the one mold, something many builders can not accomplish. This is important as fewer pieces help to ensure a longer lasting, smoother, and stronger finished product. The bottom half of the wooden structure will undergo a similar process after the work on details such as wing stations, bow seats/lockers, and boarding gates is complete.

To learn more about the Krogen 52' click here: http://www.kadeykrogen.com/52/ or contact your Kadey-Krogen representative. Don't delay as pre-production pricing ends on December 31.

Larry PolsterVice PresidentKadey-Krogen Yachts

*****November 15 News Flash******

The hull mold has been separated from the plug. Click on the small reddish colored images above.